OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - The James Perry Fyffe Letters (Civil War)
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Darrold Crites     
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July 16, 1997
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TO:	(No Envelope was shown, written after Battle of Stones River )

Camp near Murfreesboro
Jan 10th 1863

My Dear Mother


	I am sitting alone in my tent tonight and have been thinking about 
you all away at home, and John my black boy has made a good warm fire in the 
stove and Tom fixed up the Stand, and everything looking so cozy and 
comfortable.  I thought the best thing I could do would be to write to my 
Ma, and the rest of them for this letter is for the whole family, not 
forgetting Willa, for I only sent her a poor half starved one yesterday 
for I was so hurried, and worried when the man came back from Nashville, 
and told me he had not sent a Dispatch I gave him to have telegraphed home 
to assure you all of my safety that I was not in condition to write, and I 
am not much better now for the "Black Dog", got hold of me this afternoon, 
in other words had a touch of the blues, originating partly from being very 
sore from the fall my horse gave me the last days battle, partly I suppose 
from the reactions of the systims after so long sustained excitement-

	My old Regiment the 59th had its usual good fortune loosing very 
few men in all the contests.  I cannot hear of over five men being killed, 
about forty wounded, some few prisoners and a Missing, one thing remarkable 
about it is in the first days fight that Regiment was in the front line 
along side the 44th Indiana while the 15th Ohio and 86th Indiana were in 
another line away in the rear over one hundred yards, we were forced to fall 
back by being outflanked, and when the 59th Ohio and 44th Indiana began to 
fall back they were right close to the rebel lines yet did not have an 
Officer killed, and but few men, while the 13th Ohio had their Col. killed 
and three other Officers, they had 8 Officers killed and wounded out of 13 
all they had, they also had about 30 men killed and a great many wounded 
again in the last day fight in the great charge made by Breckenridges force, 
it just missed my Brigade, where it stood in a single line, without any 
Reserves, whatever, and fell about two hundred yards to then my right, where 
Col. Beattys with three Brigades in three lines were parted, sweeping them 
backward like fall leaves before a wintry wind, one after the other the 
lines were swept away, If it had fallen on me, in place of where it did, 
I do not see how a single man could have escaped of my Brigade, as it was, 
I only lost a few men, one of my Colonels was made prisioner as we fell back 
and a few others, but I was not going to describe the battle only to allude 
to what narrow escape my old Regiment had, but as I have told this much I 
will add that Breckenridges charge was intended to cut through our lines 
and get to the ford over Stone River and make prisioners of our Division, 
they succeeded in getting to the ford, turning our right but found themselves
in what the French call, a cul de sack, they found themselves in a bend of 
the river running around them as it were, while the opposite bank was lined 
with fifty pieces of Cannon, and dark with drawn masses of Infantry, I need 
not state what followed - A prisioner in Murfreesboro says when the 
retreating Colum reached the line of guards around the town that night, 
broke right through, and a confused mass went streaming through the town, 
refusing to obey any, and all orders, retreating South -

	Capt Liggett, and Adjt King left here yesterday to go to Nashville.  
The Capt has leave of absence to take home the remains of his brother Lt 
Liggett who lost a leg in the battle and died from amputation, Adjt King 
who is my Adjt Genl is going to send home the body of poor Gus Pems, killed 
dead trying to get off the wounded in the 1st days battle,  another one of 
the Band was severely wounded, the fact is they exposed themselves to much, 
I had to order Hays & Gordon, surgeons of the 59th ,back, at one time they 
had established a Hospital on near the front, and in a place not well 
sheltered, that as I rode by I noticed the Enemies balls were falling 
around them - Sam Walker was detailed to help in the Hospitals, I did not 
believe him strong enough to soldier much - John Brookhouse is a prisioner 
it is thought and I rather think he is wounded but am not certain - 

	I do not know what is to become of the people in Country, They force 
all the poor white people into the ranks, as soldiers, and have a law 
exempting every white man from the Conscript Law who owns 20 Negroes, 
thus forceing the poor who had nothing to do with bringing on the war to do 
the fighting while the wealthy man who did all he could to bring it on is 
exempt by law from fighting - 

	We have been without tents or cooking utensils nearly ever since 
we left Nashville until yesterday when our team came by and I dont know 
when I was so glad to see a man as I was to see Tom MaCaker, he had staid 
back with my Head Quarters Waggons, and we feared they were burned, Tom 
tells me he had a narrow escape, the Train was very long, and was attacked 
and part of it burned, Col Beatty, whose waggon was just ahead of mine, was 
burned and him and his Staff lost all their tarps, uniforms, etc.  Tom says 
he pulled out of the train, not liking the place he was in and let waggons 
pass him for an hour and then got in the train and that all the waggons 
along the part where he had been was burned when the train was attacked.  
I have five waggons for my Head Quarters Staff.  My staff is Charles J. 
King  A.A. Adjt Genl James Temple of Bolinggreen, Aid de Camp Capt Charles 
A. Sheaf, Provost Marshall Lt Damon of Indiana, Inspector Lt Kibler of 
Hillsboro, Topographical Engineer capt Smith of Clermont, Commissary Lt 
Sinks of Williamsburgh, Quarter Master Hanee Higgins, & E.D. Thomas Ardalis, 
but my paper has run out and I must close.  I hear the rain dropping on my 
tent.  It has not been very cold here yet, the weather is rather pleasant.  
I hope Ma you wont fret about the war. Somehow or other I have got to 
believe that it may all come out right, that the great being who rules 
orders all things for the best.

					Your Affectionate Son
							Perry